Mondomarine in talks with Chinese buyer

According to local news sources, the Italian shipyard may be on the verge of changing hands…

The Genoese newspaper Secolo XIX and the online shipping portal The MediTelegraph have reported that the Shandong Ocean Investment group, a Beijing-based company involved in maritime transport and logistics, manufacturing and engineering, are in talks for the acquisition of the shipyard in Savona. The transaction is believed to exceed €30 million and would include Cantieri di Pisa, the Tuscan boat builder that was formerly part of the Baglietto group, acquired by Mondomarine in 2015.

Furthermore, Xu Xinyu, vice-president of China’s Weichai Power company—part of the industrial enterprise that owns Ferretti Group—is believed to be acting as an intermediary between Shandong Ocean Investment and the Savona-based shipyard.

The acquisition of Mondomarine would allow Shandong Ocean Investment group to enter the Italian yachting sector through a recognised brand. According to other sources, the Chinese group is also interested in creating a yachting hub in the province of Savona, a plan that would include the Marina di Loano, a facility with berths for yachts up to 77m in length.

Mondomarine is controlled by majority shareholder Alessandro Falciai, who has been looking for a buyer for some months, and stakeholder Roberto Zambrini as managing director. All production at the shipyard is currently at a standstill with workers on stay-at-home pay (pictured above: 60m Sarastar, the last new build to be launched by Mondomarine in September 2016).

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